The rest of Eric Lindros’ hockey life began yesterday. It began with him as a Ranger, slipping into Blueshirt No. 88 after it had been handed to him by Mark Messier near the start of a somewhat muted Garden press conference.

Glen Sather wouldn’t categorize the deal that brought him to Broadway in exchange for Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson and Pavel Brendl as a risk, and neither would Lindros himself. At this point, it makes little difference what anyone says or thinks about it, anyway. It’s done, no matter the opinions of the medical people, no matter the opinions of Ranger fans who at this point appear joined in protest against it.

“I understand people are skeptical, so I’m just going to have to win them over,” said Lindros, who hasn’t played a competitive moment of hockey since May 26, 2000. “When I’m healthy, I know I can play this game, and I expect to be healthy.”

Lindros was at perfect ease yesterday, and Sather was more than comfortable. Messier and teammates Brian Leetch and Mike Richter were beaming. Ron Low couldn’t stop from smiling. But then, we’re all accustomed to happy faces at summer Garden press events. Problem is, there haven’t been very many of them in sight during the last four winters.

“I think this is a tremendous step toward getting back to respectability,” said Messier, who was reportedly stunned by the harshly negative reviews the deal received last week. “I think one of the things you have to take into account about reactions to the trade is that there have been so many messages the last four years about the direction the organization was going to take, that there was never a point when it was really clear.

“Sure, you want to get bigger, faster, stronger, younger, but there are times things are going to come up that you have to analyze. Here, with this chance, you need to ask whether Eric can be part of winning the Cup, and I don’t think there’s any doubt as to the answer. He can be. He’s the prototypical New York hockey player – tough, and he comes to play hard every night.

“I understand the frustration level of the fans. Things have been so miserable, the team has struggled so badly the last four years. But once things settle down here, I think people will see this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get Eric Lindros.”

This, of course, is a second-in-a-lifetime chance for the Rangers to have acquired Lindros, the first having been scuttled by arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi in Quebec’s famous 1992 double dip in which the then 19-year-old was traded to both Philadelphia and New York.

“It wasn’t up to me in ’92,” said Lindros, who passed up numerous chances to express an opinion of either Flyers GM Bob Clarke or owner Ed Snider. “Then, I was brought into a room and asked questions . . . it was so long ago [I don’t really remember]. Maybe [the memory lapse] is the concussions kicking in.”

Everyone chuckled at the little joke, but of course, Lindros’ six concussions are hardly a laughing matter. Yes, it is true, Lindros has been symptom-free since late June of 2000, about a month after he was kayoed by Scott Stevens in Game 7 of the Eastern finals, and he was cleared to return to the ice last November. But no matter how healthy, no matter how much work he’s done to strengthen his neck muscles, no matter how diligent he’s been on improving his awareness on the ice through a series of drills, no one can guarantee that there won’t be another concussion, or that another one won’t end his career.

Still, Lindros, who has played only 486 regular-season games in an NHL career that began in 1992, seems to have no second thoughts about going forward.

“I don’t have any reservations about this,” he said. “I look at this as the start of something fresh, as an opportunity to get Ranger hockey back on the map, back into the playoffs and cause some havoc. I know what I can do and what I can accomplish. I’m ecstatic to be here.”

—–

Blueshirt Bigshots

The Rangers have acquired numerous marquee player over the years with varying degrees of success. Here’s a statistical look at the newest Blueshirt, Eric Lindros and some of the other NHL stars who have made their way to Broadway.